


The Ex Effect

by ThisIsLitaE



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Any more tags will spoil it, Barisi - Freeform, Barisi Prompt Bingo, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentioned: The Office, Moving On, rejected proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24019906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisIsLitaE/pseuds/ThisIsLitaE
Summary: Carisi let out a shaky breath at hearing the words. For as long as they were together he’d wanted to hear those words. Now they hung in the air between the two of them, eighteen months too late.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 67
Collections: Marriage Barisi Bingo





	The Ex Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Barisi "Marriage Bingo" Prompt: Rejected Proposal COMPLETE  
> There are some brief mentions of characters from The Office but they don't effect the overall story.  
> This fic gave me a chance to experiment with something - so read it and I thank you.

Carisi arrived at the bar fifteen minutes early. He sighed and stared at the entrance in front of him, assessing his options. On one hand, he could walk away and pretend he never came. He could text an excuse as to why, although Carisi wasn’t sure the recipient deserved one after what happened between them.

The second option was to indulge in some liquid courage before his ex arrived. Carisi knew this was the option he was going to take, even with all the reasons he had to walk away. Despite knowing little good would come of it, he was too curious to let a chance meeting with this particular ex pass him by.

It had been eighteen months since they’d last properly spoken. Carisi had replayed their last night over several times in his head, wondering where everything had gone wrong. One minute he was breathing declarations of love into the other man’s neck, the next he was waking up to an empty bed and a letter on the nightstand. From that point on he couldn’t stand to say or hear the man’s name.

Carisi took a deep breath and stepped through the door. He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the familiar shape by the bar. There was the dark hair he had run his fingers through and the body shape that he’d know anywhere, naked or clothed. Of course the former ADA had arrived already, indulging in the liquid courage Carisi coveted.

He calmly took the stool next to his ex, trying not to show vulnerability by being angry or hurt. The current ADA abandoned his usual beer order and requested two vodka shots from the bartender. He threw back the first shot immediately, feeling it burn on the way down.

“Thanks for coming to see me.”

Carisi shook his head, gripping his second shot glass to an almost breaking point. “This isn’t fair, you know that. After all this time, you think you can just come back and everything will be okay? What you did was a real dick move. I didn't take you for a coward.”

“I deserve that.”

Carisi downed the second shot and slammed the empty glass on the bar. “You deserve a lot more than that. You’re lucky I don’t take this outside.”

The other man turned, eyes finally meeting Carisi’s. “You may have a temper, Sonny, but we both know you’d never do that.”

Carisi kept staring into the eyes he hadn’t seen for a year and a half. He’d forgotten the magnetic effect they had. He debated ordering another shot, but figured it best to keep a clear head. “So, you come back here thinking that you know me. What you did it -”

“Sucked, I know. I was a prick to do what I did and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

There was an awkward silence between the two former lovers. Both of them ordered another drink to try and ease the tension. Despite better judgement, Carisi swallowed the third shot of vodka.

“I hear you’ve been making headway in the Manhattan DA’s office. Pretty amazing how you won your first trial.”

Carisi dared another look at his ex, the former Manhattan ADA. Coming from him, the words were meant to be a compliment. Instead, Carisi felt the anger boiling up inside him from all the sweet nothings spoken when they were together.

“Well, if you hadn’t left without saying anything then you may have been able to see it for yourself.” Carisi stood up to leave, not wanting to provoke an inevitable fight in public. He felt tears burning his eyes as he tried to hold back. “This was a really bad idea. I’m going to go before I do something I regret.” 

“Don’t go, Sonny. I’m sorry! Look, I left because I thought you were a distraction and that I needed to see things clearly and couldn’t be clouded by emotion. Turns out the only clear thing in my life is you and the fact that I loved you. Hell, I never stopped. I just realised it too late.”

Carisi let out a shaky breath at hearing the words. For as long as they were together he’d wanted to hear those words. Now they hung in the air between the two of them, eighteen months too late. Unable to bring himself to leave, the ADA sat back down on the stool. A hand covered his and Carisi didn’t pull away.

“Sonny, I know nothing can take back what I did. My priorities were messed up but, right now, the only thing that matters is fixing what I have with you. I want a future with you in it. To prove that I’m in this for the long haul, I got you this.”

A small black box was placed on the bar. Inside sat a silver band with three small diamonds. Carisi felt all the vodka shots rush to his head at once as he looked at the ring. He kept staring at it wide eyed as the declaration from his ex continued.

“Dominick Carisi, I don’t want another year or even another day without you. I want to be with you. I hope you still want to be with me. Even if you don’t accept this ring right now, let me prove myself to you so one day you can. I promise that I will make you a priority if you let me because you’re the only person I’ve ever loved.”

Carisi took in the proposal and stared at the ring sitting on the bar. He could feel other patrons watching them, probably thinking it was romantic. The ADA thought briefly about his life back then and compared it to the life he’d now built for himself. The choice was easy.

“Peter, I appreciate what you’re saying but I can’t do this with you.”

Peter Stone sighed and nodded in understanding. He slowly slid the ring box off the table. “It was a long shot but I had to try. Maybe if I hadn’t left -”

“But you did and we moved on.” Carisi interjected bluntly before explaining. “We had a great run, but I think the whole reason I came tonight was for closure. I have someone waiting for me at home right now and I want a future with _him_ in it.”

Peter chuckled softly in response and sipped his beer. “That person wouldn’t happen to be Rafael Barba by any chance?”

Carisi felt a little nervous that Stone had figured that part out. He felt a flush come to his cheeks. “What makes you say that?”

“Another reason I couldn’t do this when I should have.” Peter patted Carisi on the shoulder in an attempt to be friendly. “Because if the situations were reversed and Barba was here with the ring, I get the feeling your answer may have been different.”

Carisi stood up, knowing it would be the last time he would voluntarily see Peter Stone. He knew that no semblance of friendship could ever exist between them again, given the complicated feelings and history. That chapter of his life was finally closed completely and the anger from it evaporated.

“You are a good guy, Peter and I wish you all the best.”

***

Carisi walked to his apartment door, processing the events of the last hour. He figured that Stone would likely drown his sorrows in more beer and a one night stand. He genuinely hoped Stone would find his way but Carisi knew that something better was waiting for him at home.

Upon opening the door, an unpleasant burning smell filled the air. Carisi slipped off his jacket and ran to the kitchen area. Rafael was there, hunched over the stove in defeat yet still looking handsome in his dishevelled state.

“What were you doing?”

Rafael turned and kissed Carisi’s cheek, grabbing his boyfriend’s hands. “I tried to make us dinner. What has resulted is burnt and likely over salted vegetables, sludgy rice and some sauce that is actually okay probably because it came from a jar.”

Carisi laughed and peeked at the concoctions in the stove pots. “You know I would have made us dinner. I told you I wasn’t going to be that long.”

“To prove I’m worthy of all your fabulous cooking, I wanted to do something special for you.” Rafael slid his arms around Carisi’s waist and snuggled into the taller man’s chest. “Now I know you’re probably tempted to eat it and pretend you love it for my benefit, because you’re disgustingly sweet that way, but I think we should just get Thai food delivered instead.”

Carisi nuzzled Rafael’s hair, closing his eyes at the scent of shampoo and hints of sweat. He planted soft kisses along his boyfriend’s hairline, finding himself unable to stop. Carisi tilted Rafael’s face up to kiss even more of it, finally hitting a pair of delicious lips and savouring them for as long as he could.

“I love you, Rafael.”

“I hope that’s you and not the booze on your breath saying that.” Rafael quipped, smiling to show that he was joking before his face turned to concerned. “I take it you had a stressful day at work?”

Carisi took Rafael’s hands, intertwining their fingers, and stared at how perfectly they fit together. “Work was fine. It’s just…I met Peter Stone for drinks.”

Rafael stepped back a little in surprise. “You mean your lawyer ex-boyfriend with a professional athlete body who once tried to prosecute me for murder? Who thought my self-esteem could get any lower after screwing up dinner.”

Carisi brought Rafael back into his arms, pressing their foreheads together so their eyes met. “Believe me, I think that dinner you made would have been easier to swallow than what he said to me.”

Rafael touched Carisi’s cheek, caressing the area with his thumb. “What was that, exactly?”

“Cards on the table.” Carisi looked down in nervousness. He wasn’t sure how Rafael would react but didn’t want to keep secrets from his boyfriend. “He sort of…proposed.”

“Unbelievable.” Rafael shook his head in disbelief and walked away.

Carisi followed right after, finding his boyfriend in the bathroom. Rafael was gripping the sink top until his knuckles turned white, clearly troubled by the revelation. Carisi stood at the door, watching Rafael, unable to believe his ever-confident boyfriend’s reaction.

“Hey, I didn’t want to upset you. I just didn’t want to keep a secret.”

Rafael put a hand up to stop Carisi continuing. “It’s bad enough that he got to be with you first, now he actually proposed to you first. It’s just a lot to process right now. Why did you even go and see him?”

Carisi cautiously stepped into the bathroom, his eyes meeting Rafael’s through the mirror reflection. “I don’t know. Maybe if I knew why he left when stuff between us was getting real I could prevent it from happening again with someone else I love.”

Rafael turned, his face expressing concern and guilt at the realisation. “You know I’m not going to leave, right? Hell, if I had you in the first place I never would have left and Stone would never have had you. I love you, Dominick.”

A smile appeared on Carisi’s face as he knew the words to be true. He reached for his boyfriend’s hand. “Say that last part again.”

“I love you and I’m not going anywhere.” Rafael slid his arms around Carisi’s neck and kissed him warmly to cement the words.

Carisi kept his arm around Rafael, leading him from the bathroom. “How about we forget about that guy, clean the pots, order some Thai food and watch _The Office_?”

“I suppose I could tolerate that show, given that it makes present company happy.” Rafael leaned on Carisi’s arm as they slowly walked down the hall. “Plus there is that one character who’s kind of cute and eager to please. Going on about how great his school is to the point where it’s annoying but adorable at the same time. A little out there and weird but his heart is in the right place.”

Carisi stopped in his tracks and playfully pinned Rafael against the wall. “Are you seriously comparing me to Andy the Nard-Dog, right now?”

“Would you prefer to be the promiscuous, drunk, red headed lady?” Rafael teased, snaking his arms around Carisi’s waist.

Carisi chuckled, kissing Rafael’s forehead. “Well, since you’re being a cocky know it all, _Oscar_ , I think it’s pretty obvious which Office character you are.”

“You mean the smart, attractive, queer, Latino man? I’ll take it.”

Carisi began leading Rafael towards the kitchen again, murmuring softly into his boyfriend’s hair. “And I’ll take you, every day, for the rest of my life.”


End file.
